A System-of-Systems Approach To Enhance Information Exchange For The Mars Science Laboratory Mission

摘要

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission set to launch in 2011 is a highly advanced and fission-powered version of the successful and long lasting Mars Exploration Rover, or MER-class of rovers. It will have the ability to conduct surface operations for longer periods of time compared to its predecessors with enhanced functionality among its science payload and the ability to traverse and operate without restrictions of being a solar power vehicle. These newfound capabilities will increase the turnaround time of the human decision-making agents (vehicle operators, scientists, engineers) due to the need to have completed science and engineering instructions transmitted to the MSL rover in a small window of time; concurrently with the requirement that the commands transmitted take full advantage of the payload and time allotted to complete its tasks. The consequences of operating this advanced rover with the infrastructure and operational scheme of the MER mission would result in an incomplete utilization of science resources in addition to not being able to make the best use of surface operations time. In order to capture the greatest return on investment from the science payload we have to extract the dependencies and interactions that belong to the networks between the desired level of Mars surface operations and the feasible capacity of Earth-based ground operations. The purpose of this paper is to briefly summarize the findings of this research that will assist in the creation of solution architectures for the 2011 Mars Science Laboratory mission.